ently needed at Apia," said Dr Macphail.

"That can't be helped. If no more cases develop on board, the schooner
will be allowed to sail with white passengers, but all native traffic is
prohibited for three months."

"Is there a hotel here?" asked Mrs Macphail.

Davidson gave a low chuckle.

"There's not."

"What shall we do then?"

"I've been talking to the governor. There's a trader along the front who
has rooms that he rents, and my proposition is that as soon as the rain
lets up we should go along there and see what we can do. Don't expect
comfort. You've just got to be thankful if we get a bed to sleep on and
a roof over our heads."

But the rain showed no sign of stopping, and at length with umbrellas
and waterproofs they set out. There was no town, but merely a group of
official buildings, a store or two, and at the back, among the coconut
trees and plantains, a few native dwellings. The house they sought was
about five minutes' walk from the wharf. It was a frame house of two
storeys, with broad verandahs on both floors and a roof of corrugated
iron. The owner was a half-caste named Horn, with a native wife
surrounded by little brown children, and on the ground-floor he had a
store where he sold canned goods and cottons. The rooms he showed them
were almost bare of furniture. In the Macphails' there was nothing but a
poor, worn bed with a ragged mosquito net, a rickety chair, and a
washstand. They looked round with dismay. The rain poured down without
ceasing.

"I'm not going to unpack more than we actually need," said Mrs Macphail.

Mrs Davidson came into the room as she was unlocking a portmanteau. She
was very brisk and alert. The cheerless surroundings had no effect on
her.

"If you'll take my advice you'll get a needle and cotton and start right
in to mend the mosquito net," she said, "or you'll not be able to get a
wink of sleep to-night."

"Will they be very bad?" asked Dr Macphail.

"This is the season for them. When you're asked to a party at
Government House at Apia you'll notice that all the ladies are given a
pillow-slip to put their--their lower extremities in."

"I wish the rain would stop for a moment," said Mrs Macphail. "I could
try to make the place comfortable with more heart if the sun were
shining."

"Oh, if you wait for that, you'll wait a long time. Pago-Pago is about
the rainiest place in the Pacific. You see, the hills, and that bay,
they attract the water, and one exp